Board Memberships and Affiliations

Commissioner At Large

West Chicago Cultural Arts Commission

Secretary and Co-owner

Board Member At Large

NAMI-DuPage

Vice President

Education

B.S.
,
Computer Science

North Central College

Certifications

Community Recovery Support Specialist

I.A.O.D.A. Professional Certification Association, Inc.

Biography

Ever since childhood, I wanted to be an artist. Equally balanced between right and left brains, I had some artistic tendencies, but also did equally well in English and Math. By virtue of the fact that I landed a job at Bell Labs (now Alcatel-Lucen...

Irene O'Neill was involved in the art show.
She had first met Robert Lundin, who has a type of schizophrenia, when he visited Lucent Technologies, where she worked, and was impressed with him.

"He spoke so openly about having mental illness," she said.

When Lundin asked O'Neill to get on board with the art show, it was a natural fit.

...

"I was already involved as a co-owner of a gallery with two other women," O'Neill said.

Lundin asked O'Neill to be his co-director.

...

"At first we thought we'd get around a dozen artists," O'Neill said.
"We had over 50 artists, each with about five pieces."

Showcased was the work of artists all diagnosed with some form of mental illness.
O'Neill has bipolar disorder.
It was so well received by the public, they were asked to return year after year, and over time, the group has become a popular draw all over the Chicago area.
Many of the original artists featured in that first show are still active with The Awakenings Project.

O'Neill, of West Chicago, is now the president of the Awakenings Project, which recently combined with the Lucid Artist Co-op to hold a show at Chicago's Lake Point Tower from late September through October.

Everyone benefits from the art showings, according to O'Neill.

"For an observer, it's eye-opening," she said.

The artist, in turn, feels valued, and gains self-confidence with the appreciation of his or her work.

Lundin's initiative, along with the energy and leadership of Evers and Naperville resident Irene O'Neill has taken The Awakenings Art Show from its initial visual presentation into several regional and statewide events throughout the year.

...

He knew that I co-owned an art gallery in Naperville and said he needed someone with professional experience in putting on shows," says O'Neill, who also serves as co-director of The Awakenings Project.

"We were only going to do one show and it's taken off ever since.
Lundin describes O'Neill as a "super-organizer" for Awakenings, which she manages while simultaneously running an art gallery, serving on two boards of directors of NPOs, holding down a full-time job and dealing with being manic-depressive (I've always leaned more toward mania.

...

I was voted most energetic in high school," says O'Neill with a wry chuckle).